Today was a "Festival of Sun", called "Chhath Pooja" celebrated with great fervor in the northern part of India especially Bihar, Jharkhand, U.P., Assam, Bengal to name a few states. A day when Hindu God, Sun and his consorts, Usha and Pratyusha (popularly called as Chhathi Maiyas) are worshipped together for being the God of energy and the life-force on Earth and for their continual blessings to promote prosperity and progress of mankind invariably. The festival involves holy bathing, fasting, preparing offerings for God and worshipping the setting and the rising Sun eventually.
This festival holds a special nostalgic memory in my life as it used to be one of the main festival of the small city I spent my wonderful childhood days at. Yep, though a native of Kerala, I was brought up in an industrial city ,"Bokaro Steel City", home to the largest steel plant of India,"The Bokaro Steel Plant" in Jharkhand which used to be Bihar earlier and also one of the most stereotyped state of India which always breaks my heart , a heart of a proud Indian.
The way Biharis/ natives of Bihar are disrespected,underestimated,disdained is just so unfair and pathetic that I can't stop scoffing and wondering about those people's (the culprit's) immaturity,narrow mindedness , the way they were raised (values imparted by their near & dear ones/parents),the environment they grew in, in short their feeble values ,wisdom and moreover the hi-fi or any education they gained.Pity neither the values at home nor the educations at schools,college or job helped a few bullies to remember and apply,"Treat everyone with equal respect irrespective of caste,creed,religion,color or STATE." and when you give respect,you get respect back .
Obviously, it's not those people it's the bureaucrats, political system, media who are in fact screwing (reminds me "3 Idiot movie's ",the "B" word) doing balatkaars of the state to fulfill their own selfish wants .They are to be blamed and mocked for sure .Otherwise when it comes to intelligence,talent and hard working traits Biharis score at par.It's well known that it's the "Biharis" who come out most with the flying colors especially in IITs, IIMs, JNU, DU and other well-reputed colleges of India and they are in every top-notch field be it sports,politics, civil services, any art ,entertainments ,different businesses,as doctors,engineers etc etc etc..They are in no way inferior to any proud Indian. One should not judge a book by its cover afterall.Well, even I was teased at college , nothing serious though but still it hurts , to see people discriminating each other in their own country and then calling themselves ,"Proud to be an Indian" .. Really?
I believe in only one thing , it's called ,"Being Human" .... That matters irrespective of any status,caste , religion or country !!Hope you'll agree with me .
A peek into the forgotten or ignored striking History....
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| Courtesy:theproudbihari |
Yes , I am very proud to be brought up in one of the smaller yet major city of Jharkhand without any hustle-bustle like a metro city but still we had everything to live and enjoy a meaningful memorable life .I can't thank my parents enough again and again .I wouldn't have asked for more.I love it more than my native state,Kerala.(I hope Keralites are not reading this :P)
Again a long post but I wanted to document & erase the misconceptions about the state where I was raised and present it to anyone who will be reading my blog to tell you that I am as proud as a Bihari as I am a proud Keralite and moreover an Indian.I owe Bokaro for everything. So, it's a small tribute from me on this auspicious occasion of this festival.
Also,I hope everyone would discourage any kind of stereotyping like I do,occasional fun (mere leg pulling) is ok but it shouldn't be done with the intention of harming or hurting any one's feeling in any way .Agree?
Coming to the festival (finally ) : D, Thekua/Khajoor is a quintessential Bihari sweet snack , a traditional food made during this festival of the Sun, chhatt pooja,made up wheat flour and Jaggery as an offering to God especially and which is eaten once the fast is broken.My neighbors used to bring this to our home on the eve of this festival and I just loved it :D I remember all ladies looking nothing less than a bride actually,with a looong vermillion drawn right from their forehead to their hair especially,singing prayer songs and going in a group to any river ghat nearby to worship Sun .Those songs though I hardly understood,still plays deep in my memory.:)
Thekua
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Jaggery (Grated) /Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup (optional)
Ghee- 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon(optional)
Ghee or oil for deep frying
Method:
- Boil water in a pan and add grated jaggery into it .
- Allow it to completely dissolve into a syrup like consistency.
- Add fennel seeds, coconut and cardamom powder into it.
- Now put the stove off , remove the pan and allow it to cool.
- Take flour in a big bowl , add ghee and the above jaggery liquid little by little and knead it until it becomes a stiff dough.
- Make big lemon size balls out of the dough.Keep them aside.
- Heat the ghee or oil in a deep pan for frying.
- Meanwhile apply little ghee on your palms and press each ball between the palms to form either a circle or an oblong shape and design it if you wish on the top using the fork or any design making stuff.
- Now fry one by one without crowding in the ghee for 2-3 minutes on both the sides until crisp and light or dark brown (but not burnt) on medium-low flame.
- Drain them , allow to cool (on tissue paper so that it absorbs all oil) and store it in airtight containers or like me eat it right away.:D
Happy Chhat pooja!!God bless !!
Sending this to Priya’s Virundhu 's CWS event announcement
